Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Rizzo

Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune passed along this update on Anthony Rizzo from last week:

"Don’t look now, but here comes Anthony Rizzo – soon, anyway. The guy hit his 14th home run on Thursday night for Iowa, which leads the Pacific Coast League, and also registered his 500th at-bat in Triple-A. That could be significant as it’s the number that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have talked about Brett Jackson needing before he’s promoted from Iowa. Rizzo, you’d have to think, now has his resume stamped 'dues paid in full.' But for him to be added, Dale Sveum has to have a way to play him, and his first baseman, Bryan LaHair, is currently the best in the NL. The Cubs have to find out if LaHair can play the outfield (they feel Rizzo is a future Gold Glove defender at first), and for that to happen they have to figure out how to make Alfonso Soriano (who is still owed about $48 million) go away. Because Soriano hits right-handed and both LaHair and Rizzo are left-handed hitters, a platoon seems very possible in coming weeks. The Cubs could, of course, use LaHair or Rizzo as trade chips. But I’d be surprised if they moved either of them before they figured out how to squeeze him and Rizzo on the same roster. If Rizzo can make the transition to the big leagues, and if LaHair can play left, suddenly Team Theo has its middle of the order in place for the next four years with them and Starlin Castro."